59°F
weather icon Mostly Clear

City needs fair, equitable solution to hangar woes

The local government of Boulder City made an enormous mistake. It’s OK to make a mistake occasionally; what is much more important is to admit it and find a way to correct it.

In this case, the error was perfectly legal. The question is, was it ethically or morally the right thing to do? I think not. Frankly, they just weren’t nice.

Thirty-some-odd years ago, 28 aircraft hangars were erected at our local airport, and 30-year leases were penned. A clause within these leases allowed the city to either renew or claim ownership of the hangars at the end of the term. In July of 2020, they chose the latter. The owners of these hangars were either booted out or began renting from the city. All of their hard-earned equity was completely wiped out.

A case in point is the young couple who purchased a hangar six or eight months before the city decided to take possession, stripping them of their investment and ruining their dreams of one day owning an airplane.

It is believed that the town knows it made a mistake but is unwilling to admit it and search for a solution. I have talked to several individuals inside and outside the city government and most have said that a resolution is complicated. To me, it is simple and straightforward.

Four significant facts have emerged. First, the city advised hangar owners before lease expiration that a lease renewal was in the works. This information caused great hardship to those who purchased hangers in the interim.

Second, the city hired an airport consulting firm to assist in their decision-making process. The consulting firm concluded that a renewal of the leases would be the best policy moving forward. The city rejected this advice.

Third, the city manager advised the mayor that the leases should be extended or renewed, advice the mayor turned down.

Fourth, the precedent countrywide is to renew. The overall majority of airport municipalities have renewed leases rather than seize and take possession.

Lastly, from a financial point of view, the city has spent more money than it collected in rents since the takeover, not to mention the substantial liability issues placed upon the city. Does this make any sense?

Additional hangar leases are coming due in the next few years. We now have a mayor and council that will critically examine the previous decision and (could) renew the future leases rather than position for ownership.

Should this occur, to be fair, we must return the first group of hangars to their original owners. It wouldn’t be appropriate for the first group of owners who lost their hangars to allow a second or third group to keep theirs.

The question is: How can this be easily accomplished? No. 1, immediately send a letter to all previous owners explaining that ownership will revert to them beginning Jan. 1, 2023, along with the provision that the city will not be held liable or sued for anything related to the 2020 transfer.

No. 2, send a letter to all tenants explaining that the ownership is changing and they will have to negotiate a new rental agreement with the previous owners.

No. 3, create a fair and equitable 20- or 30-year lease for all hangars so everything expires on the same date, putting everything on a level playing field.

No. 4, write the terminated owners a check for the rent collected since July 2020.

Simple, fair, equitable, ethical and moral. Let’s remove this stain of blunder from our past. Please be “bold” Boulder City; make it happen. Let’s make Boulder City “nice” again.

The opinions expressed above belong solely to the author and do not represent the views of the Boulder City Review. They have been edited solely for grammar, spelling and style, and have not been checked for accuracy of the viewpoints.

G. Kevin Savord is currently a professional pilot and former small business owner. He can be reached at gksavord@gmail.com.

MOST READ
THE LATEST
My bighorn buddies

Having grown up in Boulder City, I was always aware of its unofficial mascots …the bighorn sheep.

Can’t we all just disagree?

Once you asked me, “What do you think?”

What if they gave a war and nobody was home?

The subjects in most of the articles and columns I write tend to include positive stories about American veterans and veterans’ organizations. And in fact the pieces are about veterans, not active-duty military.

Gratitude for government

I moved to Boulder City in 1981. Boulder City is blessed to have been a government town. Can we recall the blessings we have received from government?

Trash talk isn’t always a bad thing

Allow me to warn you that this month’s Home Matters is filled with all kinds of trash talk. In fact, I’ve been trash talking with the city and BC Wastefree for a few days now. Why all this garbage gab? It’s time to take out the trash, properly.

Legislative season almost here

Ahhh… it is a wonderful time of year. Spring is just around the corner. The sun shines longer, the birds are singing, and plants are blooming. It is a magical time of year!

MY D_Y WITH P_T _ND V_NN_

Last night I caught a few minutes of “Wheel of Fortune” and whenever I do, I can’t help but think back to my time in Hawaii when the show came over to film a few weeks’ worth of episodes at the Hilton Waikoloa Village about 15 years ago.

A little late and clueless but still…

I know, I know, I know. I’m a week late for Valentine’s Day content. But my timing has always sucked. Just ask my wife.

Veteran caregivers hope for financial boost

Much has been spoken and written about in recent months about military and veteran caregivers, and the responsibilities they are charged with.

A penny for your thoughts, compounded daily

When my oldest son, Joseph, turned 18 in 2011, a good family friend gifted him a self-help book by Darren Hardy called “The Compound Effect.” It’s all about achieving success one baby step at a time. My six other children loathed that gift, because my wife, Leslie, then proceeded to preach its principles seemingly ad nauseam over the next five years every opportunity she could find.